Friday, November 29, 2013

A cancer patient who said publicly that his health coverage was canceled because of Obamacare now says he’s being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.

Bill Elliott appeared on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” earlier this month and said he was told that his cancer was considered “beyond a catastrophic pre-existing condition” and his plan was being canceled because of new regulations.

He said he was given the option of a new $1,500-per-month plan, up from the $180 per month or so that he’d been paying. Elliott told Fox’s Megyn Kelly that he had decided he wasn’t going to pay for the new expensive plan, and was instead going to take the financial penalty and “let nature take its course.”More

As a home-educated graduate and home school parent who happens to be a prepper, I have given a great deal of thought to homeschooling after a collapse as my children are not grown. There are those who are already home schoolers and those who have not and will not consider homeschooling unless there is a SHTF scenario. This article is written for the latter : those who would like to set aside educational materials for their children and their progeny in the care of a true SHTF scenario.

While it would certainly be possible to buy a few workbooks at Costco and consider it done, I recommend that you sit down and discuss your thoughts on education as a family. If you have a son or daughter who aspires to be a medical doctor or who is a history buff you will need to take your families ideals and natural gifts into consideration. Deciding whether you are interested in faith based or secular materials would then be the next place to start. Consider the many different methods of home education and choose a few to research whether or not they are well suited to your personality and educational philosophy. There are classical, Charlotte Mason, Unit Study, Self Directed and even Unschooling methods to name just a few. If you are interested in faith based materials look for publishers which line up with your religious beliefs such as Abeka.com and Setonhome.org would be a good start for Catholics while Chinuch.org carries materials of interest to Jewish families. Pearsonhomeschool.com is a popular secular publisher as is Homeschool.calvertschool.org. Relatively new to the home school communities are virtual academies and discs from SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse) from Alpha Omega Publishers. This is not by any means a complete list. Christianbook.com andRainbowresource.com sell materials from most of the aforementioned publishers and much more. CathyDuffyReviews.com and Homeschoolreviews.com are excellent in depth review sites.

Mexican authorities set free a former teen cartel hit man on Tuesday and sent him back to the United States.

The release of Edgar Jimenez Lugo, a U.S. citizen known as "El Ponchis" or "The Cloak," comes less than three years after a Mexican court found him guilty of torturing and beheading at least four people and kidnapping three others as an operative for the South Pacific Cartel.

The teenager's age -- 14 at the time -- and his on-camera description of the slayings, brought international attention to the case. Analysts said the dramatic example showed how Mexican drug gangs were increasingly recruiting youths.More

White House officials are trying to slam GOP efforts to cut food-stamp funding, even as President Barack Obama told wealthy donors that he won’t compromise on his ambitious, government-fattening progressive policies that have failed to reverse the nation’s unemployment and poverty.

The food stamp program “is one of our nation’s strongest defenses against poverty and hunger,” Cecilia Muñoz, head of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council declared Tuesday.

Food-stamp cuts “would be harsh and unacceptable at any time, but particularly so as we enter the Thanksgiving and holiday [Christmas] season,” Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters during a midday phone conference.

An experimental device is letting paralyzed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction.

Key to this wireless system: Users get their tongue pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewelry and acts like a joystick, in hopes of offering them more mobility and independence.

Researchers reported Wednesday that 11 people paralyzed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the tongue device to pilot their wheelchairs through an obstacle course full of twists and turns, and to operate a computer, too.More

The National Park Service has officially withdrawn a controversial document objecting to fracking, scrubbing the record and acknowledging that it broke its own rules on sticking to strict science in its zeal to pressure a fellow federal agency.

George Mason’s home, Gunston Hall, just down the river from Mount Vernon, is closed on Thanksgiving Day but reopens to visitors the day after. In this season when Americans reflect upon all that we are grateful for, these stately and hallowed grounds are a good place to start.

Commonly referred to as the “forgotten founder,” George Mason IV had a fair amount of contempt for politics. Especially politicians. It was a dirty, grubby affair that attracted mostly dirty, grubby people.

OCEAN CITY — With many resort residents planning holiday travel or winter-shortening vacations, and thousands more using their beach property as second homes, the Ocean City Police Department has a residential security check program available to help ensure private property is protected, but it appears few are taking advantage of it.With the arrival of the holiday season, numerous Ocean City residents will travel to see families over the next few weeks and countless more will take much-needed vacations to warmer climates after another busy season. For years, the OCPD has offered an invaluable program in which local residents can register their properties for random security checks by officers when they are not at home for extended periods of time.More

ObamaCare applicants across the country are finding their premiums are tripling, their favorite doctors aren't available, the physicians they can see are often far away and many prestigious hospitals offering specialized care are off-limits to them, according to a Washington Examiner survey of health insurance agents and brokers across the country.

Agents associated with the National Association of Health Underwriters were contacted in 16 cites across the country.

The agents were all certified by state insurance regulators to sell health insurance policies within and without the ObamaCare exchanges.

Their responses provide an alarming picture of the profound changes ObamaCare is forcing on patients and health care providers.

What would happen if the entire health care system in the United States was run by the federal government? Would such a system be better or worse than what we have today? To get an answer to these questions, all we have to do is take a look at what is already happening.

Image: Injured Veteran (Wikimedia Commons).

The truth is that there already is a government health care system in America and it is the medical version of hell. You are about to read about the horrifying state of health care being provided by the federal government at VA hospitals and on Indian reservations around the country. Injured military veterans and those that live on Indian reservations are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and the government is doing an absolutely nightmarish job of taking care of them.

Theoretically, the government should be able to provide at least a basic level of care for these people, but as you will see this is simply not happening.

SALISBURY – On the heels of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Salisbury Fire Department presented a check to Women Supporting Women superseding prior year donations.“This is year three of our efforts to support Women Supporting Women and breast cancer awareness, and this is our biggest year to date. We hope that is a trend that keeps moving forward,” Fire Chief Rick Hoppes said.Fire Department employees returned to Council Chambers this year wearing pink Salisbury Fire Department T-shirts, which were sold as part of the fundraiser. As in past years, the fire department also hosted a corn hole tournament where every department of the city was represented and participated.More

John Goodman, the leading medical care analyst in the country, asked this question a few weeks ago. His piece was entitled "None Dare Call It…". The missing words were economic fascism.

Economic fascism, the system developed by Italian dictator Mussolini and later adopted by Hitler, is a highly developed form of crony capitalism. It has its own code of silence, not unlike the oath of omerta associated with the Mafia.

Private interests and government officials make their deals behind closed doors and are then not supposed to talk about them. To break the oath of silence is considered a grave offense.

American shoppers aren’t the only ones getting ready to spend big this holiday season.

In Washington, members of the budget conference committee are considering several options that could increase spending by up to an additional $100 billion.

What’s standing in their way is sequestration: the automatic spending cut mechanism President Obama signed into law with the Budget Control Act (BCA). Sequestration enforces spending caps on the discretionary budget, which includes those domestic programs that brought you the infamous IRS Star Trek parody video and the $325,000 RoboSquirrel. The reductions disproportionately fall on defense, and lawmakers should do a better job of prioritizing this core constitutional function while staying within the agreed-upon spending levels.More

A video has surfaced from the presidential campaign trail in May 2008 that shows Michelle Obama talking about the sacrifices that Americans would have to make in order to achieve her husband's health care goals.

The future First Lady was speaking at a meeting of military families to highlight the cost of war for those back at home. Her remarks have been referred to in several Internet postings but no video has surfaced until now.

ANNAPOLIS, MD -- Governor Martin O’Malley proclaimed today, November 29, 2013, as American Indian Heritage Day in Maryland. During the 2008 session, the Maryland General Assembly approved House Bill 83 making the fourth Friday of November a legal holiday to acknowledge the proud history of American Indians in Maryland.

“In honor of the rich history and culture of the American Indian community in our state, today we officially observe American Indian Heritage Day,” said Governor O’Malley. “It is fitting that we recognize the enormous contributions the First Americans have made to Maryland's culture, heritage and shared prosperity, from the birth of our colony to the present day.”

The first official designation of the holiday in state history was proclaimed five years ago in November 2008. Sponsored by Delegate Talmadge Branch, House Bill 83 also received strong support and leadership from Senator Joan Carter-Conway and delegates Kumar P. Barve and James E. Proctor Jr.

American Indian Heritage Day in Maryland runs in conjunction with the national designation of the Friday after Thanksgiving as a day to pay tribute to Native Americans, established by the U. S. House of Representatives in November of 2007. The first American Indian Day recognized by a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the Governor of New York.

American Indian Heritage Day in Maryland is recognized as a part of the state and national celebration of National American Indian Heritage Month. In November 1990, a joint resolution was approved by the President of the United States designating November for the month-long celebration. Proclamations are made each year by the President declaring the heritage month celebration.

CHICAGO (AP) - A suburban Chicago police officer has been released from hospital after being dragged by a car driven by fleeing Thanksgiving Day shoplifting suspects, one of which was charged with attempted murder Friday.

Another police officer fired at the 52-year-old driver, who remained hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his arm following the Thursday night incident at a Kohl's department store in Romeoville, the Romeoville Police Department said in a statement. The suburb is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago.

New York City has reportedly started sending out confiscation notices ordering gun owners to “immediately surrender” rifles and/or shotguns capable of holding more than five rounds of ammunition. It is illegal to possess a rifle or shotgun with the capacity to hold more than five rounds in the city, according to NYC Administrative Code 10-306 (b).

An alleged notice sent to an NYC resident, dated Nov. 18, offers the gun owner the following options:

Immediately surrender your Rifle and/or Shotgun to your local police precinct, and notify this office of the invoice number. The firearm may be sold or permanently removed from the City of New York thereafter.

Gov. Martin O'Malley says the state continues to work to improve its health-insurance exchange website.

O'Malley briefed reporters Wednesday on efforts to make the exchange more accessible and on the progress in enrolling uninsured Marylanders. Also on Wednesday, the state released new figures on the number of state residents who have signed up for insurance.

Through Saturday, 3,024 Marylanders have enrolled in private health plans through the state's health exchange, called Maryland Health Connection. State officials said more people signed up in the last week than in any previous week. Another 11,493 Marylanders have been found eligible to sign up for Medicaid coverage through the exchange. More

For this blogger it’s all about the traditional turkey dinner with your family, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the neighborhood Turkey Bowl, the National Dog Show, that free pumpkin pie you bring home from the holiday racing card at Laurel Park and now for the second time in the last 3 years, a Ravens Thanksgiving night game at M&T Bank Stadium.But one tradition that has always captured my imagination is the time-honored tradition of the Presidential pardon of the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

And once again the President and this year’s edition of the National Thanksgiving Turkey (and its alternate) did not disappoint in a spirited Rose Garden Thanksgiving-eve afternoon ceremony.More

Imagine what the world, and more specifically your local community, might be like 50 years from now, in 2060 to be exact. How will our lives have changed? How will transport have changed? Urban planning? City amenities? These are some of the questions residents of Greater Baltimore are being asked to think about.

The Imagine 2060 project is an interesting intellectual exercise designed to engage the community in a workshop aimed at developing ideas for future developments in the areas of land use and transport. The project is interesting because ideas are not constrained by a budget and the imagination can therefore take flight.

An Annapolis brothel operator was sentenced to 35 years in prison this week.

U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. also sentenced German de Jesus Ventura, 35, who was living in the U.S. illegally, to five years of supervised probation on nearly a half-dozen prostitution, human trafficking and weapons charges.

Since 2008, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division had been investigating Ventura’s brothel organization, which operated in Annapolis, Easton, Washington, D.C., Virginia and New York. Five people were arrested for federal violations and 14 were arrested for state violations.

“This sentencing sends a message that HSI and other law enforcement members of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force are committed to working together to investigate human trafficking and combating the violence that sex trafficking organizations are bringing to our communities,” said William Winter, special agent in charge of HSI Baltimore.

Did you ever imagine that, in America, groups of black thugs would attack unsuspecting whites? Did you ever think the first black president and Oprah Winfrey would encourage division and hatred between races?

In today’s America, that’s the unfortunate reality.

In what many tamely call the “knockout game,” black teenagers target whites to attack them without provocation. The aim is to knock the victim unconscious with one blow. Man, woman, young or old – it doesn’t matter – these thugs do not care.

Authorities have reported violent attacks in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Connecticut and Illinois. There have been at least four recent fatalities.Read more

The Obama administration plans to shut down the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican and relocate offices onto the grounds of the much larger American Embassy in Italy.

In the wake of the attack in Benghazi, Libya, the move is justified primarily on the grounds of enhanced security, John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter wrote. Cost savings is said to be a factor as well, with the State Department estimating $1.4 million a year will be saved by relocating.

The Vatican traditionally has insisted that countries maintain embassies in distinct locations as a way of underscoring its autonomy, NCR reported.

It’s a “massive downgrade of U.S.-Vatican ties,” former U.S. Ambassador James Nicholson told NCR. “It’s turning this embassy into a stepchild of the embassy to Italy. The Holy See is a pivot point for international affairs and a major listening post for the United States, and … [it’s] an insult to American Catholics and to the Vatican.”

Most banks already charge customers for the so-called privilege of having a checking account, but now they want to add a few extra fees. According to the Financial Times, the Federal Reserve is considering dialing back the process of quantitative easing. In other words, they want to scale back the $85 billion dollar per month bond buying program, which floods the banking industry with capital at little to no cost. But, the banks won't give up all that free money easily, and they're looking to customers to make up for those lost profits. Historically, banks actually paid customers for saving money, as a return for leaving money in the bank, where it could be used to lend and invest. But today, the banksters act like they're doing us a favor by holding our money, and using it to profit off loans and investments. The only reason this is even being considered is because the too-big-to-fail financial giants can get away with pretty much anything without fear of repercussion. It's time to break up the banks, and put power back in the hands of banking customers.

Date and Time Last Seen: Friday November 29, 2013 at approximately 1:45 a.m.

Resume: Selbyville, DE- The Delaware State Police has issued a Gold Alert for a missing Selbyville woman.

The Delaware State Police are currently searching for Danielle C. Langenfelder, 40 of Selbyville, DE. Langenfelder was last at her residence located in the 38000 block of Bay Berry Lane in Selbyville around 1:45 a.m. this morning and has not been seen or heard from since . She is described as a white female, 5’05” tall and 107 lbs. with blonde hair and brown eyes. Langenfelder may be operating a 2001 Volvo S60 bearing Delaware registration 408644. She is possibly in the Selbyville, DE or Willards, MD area.

Danielle Langenfelder's medical condition is such that there is a real concern for her safety.

Troopers are asking anyone who may have any information as to the whereabouts of Danielle Langenfelder to contact Troop 4 at 302-856-5850. Citizens may also provide a tip by texting keyword “DSP” plus your message to 274637 (CRIMES). Tipsters may also provide information through lines maintained by Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333. Callers can also submit information via the internet at www.tipsubmit.com.